The Giants.com crew members give their takeaways from Sunday night's 22-9 loss to the Chiefs.

John Schmeelk: Andrew Thomas returned to the field on Sunday against the Chiefs. Due to his recovery from a foot injury, he was limited to 28 plays and exited the game at the end of the second quarter. But until then, the left tackle looked like himself. According to Pro Football Focus, he did not allow a pressure or get beat by a defender in pass protection. He also helped the Giants run 16 times for 75 yards in the first half and moved defenders off the line of scrimmage. If he continues to play at that level, he can help elevate the entire offense moving forward.

It is much needed. For the second time this season, the offense failed to score double-digit points and is now averaging just over 17 points per game. To win games going forward, that number is going to have to increase, and as it always does, everything begins with the offensive line. Before I get to the group as a whole, I feel the need to once again recognize another strong game from right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, who allowed only one quarterback hurry, according to PFF. On the season, Eluemunor is tied for the third-fewest pressures allowed at offensive tackle with three. He is on his way to having the best season of his career.

The run game took another step in the right direction, but the pass protection, especially in the second half, still left something to be desired. According to PFF, the Chiefs blitzed on pass downs on a league-low 16.7 percent of their pass rushes on Sunday, but had the third-highest pressure rate (52.4 percent). Their 40.5 percent quick pressure rate (2.5 seconds or less) led the NFL. A big reason the Giants failed on their lone appearance in the red zone on Sunday was pressure in the quarterback's face on third and fourth down. Those numbers will have to improve if the Giants want to take the next step as an offense.

Dan Salomone: After Tyrone Tracy Jr. had just nine touches in Week 2, the Giants began Sunday night with a heavy dose of the second-year running back who eclipsed 1,000 scrimmages yards as a rookie. Tracy either carried the ball or was targeted on seven of the Giants' first 10 plays against the Chiefs.

But the Giants, whose night began with kicker Graham Gano injuring his hamstring in final warmups, had to adjust their plans again.

Late in the first quarter, Tracy suffered a should injury while being tackled on the left sideline and did not return. Then it was time for Cam Skattebo, who finished the game as the Giants' leading rusher (10 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown) and receiver (six catches for 61 yards). The former is what you want. The latter is not exactly how you draw it up as their nine points and 281 yards were a stark contrast from the 37-point, 507-yard outing seven days earlier at Dallas.

We'll find out the extent of Tracy's injury as the week progresses, but Skattebo is earning more snaps regardless of the timetable. And no one who watched a minute of Arizona State's playoff run is surprised.

"Cam is a good young player to coach," coach Brian Daboll said. "He runs hard. He makes few mistakes relative to understanding the schematics of things. Instinctive player and made the most of his opportunity yesterday."

Matt Citak: The Giants' defense had mixed results. The unit held the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs to just 306 total yards of offense, 4.6 yards per play and 3.8 yards per carry – all of which were stark improvements from last week in Dallas. However, the defense struggled to get off the field in key situations. Kansas City converted on eight of 15 third-down attempts, including a couple of big ones late in the fourth quarter when it was still a one-possession game. The Chiefs ended up scoring a touchdown on that drive to put the game out of reach.

One encouraging sign on the defensive side of the ball has been the performance of the pass rush, most notably outside linebackers Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux. The two veteran edge rushers spoke throughout the summer about wanting to take their games to another level, and through the first three weeks of the season, they've done just that. Burns picked up three sacks over the first two games and added his fourth against the Chiefs. Despite him tweaking something on Sunday night, Burns missed only a few snaps before he returned to the game and continued to get pressure on Mahomes. He finished the game with six tackles (five solo), the sack, a tackle for loss, two quarterback hits and two passes defensed. Pro Football Focus had him down for six total pressures this week, which gives him 13 on the season, while Thibodeaux is right behind him with 12 pressures on the year. The fourth-year edge rusher was held out of the sack department in Week 3 for the first time this season, but he did finish the game with two quarterback hits to go with his four pressures. The two led the way for a pass rush that was able to generate pressure on 29.3 percent of Mahomes' drop-backs, which was a new season-high allowed for the Kansas City offense. The Giants' eight sacks on the season are tied for the ninth-most in the league through three games.

The Giants have trailed for basically the entirety of two of their three games this season. Despite that fact, the pass rush has still been able to generate solid pressure against three very talented quarterbacks in Mahomes, Dak Prescott and Jayden Daniels. If the run defense can have more outings like Sunday night and the offense can start producing points on a more consistent basis, it should lead to more opportunities for the pass rush to pin their ears back and get after the quarterback. If that happens, it could mean very big things for Burns and Thibodeaux.